Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been said to attempt a sly dig at Premier League rivals Arsenal, in new comments ahead his side’s match up against Everton on Wednesday. Guardiola claims Manchester United and Chelsea are still in the race for the Premier League title but the Spainard made no mention of Arsenal.
The Blues boss believes focusing on a Premier League battle between his defending champions and current leaders Liverpool would be foolish
Manchester City’s Premier League title defence will be challenged from multiple directions, according to Pep Guardiola – who claimed Manchester United and Chelsea could still be in the hunt.
City travel to Everton on Wednesday , for a fixture that has been moved forward due to their participation in the Carabao Cup final later this month, knowing victory will move them above leaders Liverpool on goal difference . Jurgen Klopp’s team failed to capitalise on City’s 2-1 loss at Newcastle United last week as they were held to back-to-back 1-1 draws with Leicester City and West Ham, while Guardiola’s men returned to winning ways by seeing off Arsenal 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“I never put out [of the race] all five or six teams and United is making this run of victories every single week. They will be there to fight for the Premier League. We see the table and see the first two or three and say, ‘they are able to be champions’ and we don’t look further than that. If Chelsea win games in a row they will be a contender too to win the Premier League.”
“Everybody is there. The gap is not too big. With 39 points to play for, nine or 10 points behind is not too much. Seeing the Premier League now, everybody is ready to take points.” It amounts to the type of title battle the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach expected when he moved to England, stating City’s 100-point season last time around is something of an outlier.
“I would say it is typical in England, this type of situation. What is not common is what happened last season – a team with 100 points and a lot of distance, 18 games winning,” Guardiola said. “Normal is what happens now. Every game is tough. You can win and lose every single game. Everybody is involved for all the chances to win all the titles, [qualify for] Europe, trying to stay in the Premier League.”